The Mirror of Erised
by TheRavingFangirl
Summary: Hermione discovers something on a late-night walk through Hogwarts. What is it, and how will it effect her?
1. The Mirror

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, the books would suck and stop at number two because I would've ran out of ideas.

Hermione was just returning from the library, after returning a book. It was late. She had gotten caught up in reading a book about ancient spells and potions, when she realized that it was just about curfew.

Hurrying through the corridors, Hermione knew that Filch would have no mercy on her, no matter what the reason was she was out of the Gryffindor tower this late. Her heart stopped as she heard shuffling footsteps and bitter grumbling. Filch!

Panicking, Hermione dashed into an empty classroom. She hardly dared to breathe as the glare of Filch's lantern went through the crack at the bottom of the door. The footsteps grew quieter and the lantern's light disappeared. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and was about to walk out when she saw the huge mirror in the room.

Overcome with curiosity, she walked up to the strange thing. It had writing across the top of it that read: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. _Hermione read the writing a few more times, trying to decipher it. _I show not your face but your heart's desire _was what she concluded it said. All it took to figure this out was reading it backwards and ignoring word breaks.

Hermione looked in the mirror. At first, she saw nothing. Then, she saw herself with a tall, red-headed man whose arms were around her shoulders. She and the man were wearing wedding rings. They were surrounded by children, resembling themselves. Hermione had to look harder before she realized what exactly this image was. She gasped as she realized that the man she was standing with was Ron, only older, and the children that surrounded them were _their children. _

She stared at the image in disbelief. Was this her heart's desire? To marry Ron, childish, slightly awkward Ronald Weasley? And not only that, but have children with him as well? Hermione had to admit, the scene made her very happy, yet very sad. She knew this would probably never happen. Ron didn't feel the same way about her as she did about him.

Hermione knew she should head back to Gryffindor tower or face getting detention, but she couldn't bring herself to walk away from the mirror. The children poked each other, teased each other, argued, and she and Ron told them to settle down.

She finally rushed off to the tower after knowing she would drive herself mad looking at the mirror too long. Walking down the corridor, she could have sworn she heard footsteps, though no one was there.

The door to the room Hermione had just left creaked open. Ron threw off Harry's Invisibility Cloak and walked over to the mirror. He had discovered it when walking about the corridors during free periods about three days ago. Ron had been visiting it every night since then.

As Ron looked into the mirror, he saw the same thing Hermione had just seen. He sighed forlornly and reached out and touched the glass. He knew this would never come true. Hermione didn't feel the same way about him as he did about her.


	2. An Alternate Ending

**A/N: **This is just an alternate ending. There's not going to be anymore chapters, I just whipped this up and thought, "Eh, what the heck?" Enjoy! :3

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><p>Hermione couldn't help it. The itch to look into the mirror once more consumed her. She waited until the common room was empty, then snuck out of the tower to visit the mirror again. She knew it was foolish to risk detention over an image, but Hermione was filled with some sort of hunger.<p>

Filch walked by, and Hermione ducked behind a suit of armor, holding her breath. If only she had an Invisibility Cloak. She waited until the grumbling caretaker had gone, then ducked around the corridors, jumping at every little noise.

When Hermione reached the room that she had discovered yesterday, she saw that the door was already slightly ajar. Was someone else in there? Or was Filch waiting to pounce on her the moment she walked in? Hermione was tempted to turn back, but then she remembered the sight of her little family.

Ever so carefully, Hermione pushed the door open, hoping it wouldn't creak. She saw someone standing there, pressed against the glass. Unable to tell who it was in the shadows, Hermione squinted at the mirror, wondering if she could see what the other person was seeing. Bewilderment came over her as she saw the same thing. Then she reasoned that no matter what, you saw the same image in the mirror. Hermione began to edge out of the room, figuring it was pointless if someone else was here. To her dismay, the door creaked as she was backing out of it. The figure turned around.

"Hermione?" it asked. She recognized the voice.

"Ron?" she called. "What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Ron said, smirking. "You were the one sneaking in, not me." Hermione couldn't argue with that.

"Well, I-" she began, but Ron cut her off.

"Let me guess. You found the mirror," -he gestured to it- "and now you can't stop looking in it, just because of what you saw?"

"Well, yes. That's actually exactly what it is."

"I know what you mean. Found this thing four days ago. I remember it from our first year, when Harry found it." Hermione looked puzzled. "Oh, that's right, we never told you, did we?" He turned back to the mirror, and Hermione walked over to him.

"You do know what this mirror does, don't you?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, it shows whatever you want most, right?"

"How'd you figure that one out?"

"Well, Harry told me he saw his parents…" There was a silence, although it wasn't exactly awkward.

"What do you see in the mirror?" Ron asked suddenly.

"What?" Hermione said. "That's an awfully personal question, Ron!" She hoped he couldn't see her blushing.

"Yeah, you're right…sorry," he mumbled. Another silence ensued.

"I guess I'd better get going…been here for hours," Ron said. "'Night, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Ron."

As he was leaving, Hermione walked to the mirror. To her surprise, Ron wasn't in his place next to her. He was what looked like a small distance behind her, his back turned.

"Ron, wait," Hermione called. He turned around. So did the Ron in the mirror. Ron walked next to Hermione.

"That's strange…you're not supposed to see anything if another person is there except for you," Ron observed. Hermione went scarlet. Could he see what she saw now?

"Hermione," he whispered, "Is this what you see when it's just you?"

"Wh-why?" she asked, finding herself whispering as well. Ron looked at her peculiarly.

"Because it's what I see, too…" Hermione gasped slightly. They stared at each other for several intense moments. Then Hermione found herself wrapped in Ron's arms with her own around his neck, their mouths crashing together. After several minutes of pure heaven, Hermione and Ron found that they needed to breathe. They broke apart, breathless.

"That was…" Ron whispered.

"Wonderful," Hermione finished for him.

More snogging ensued, only interrupted by the sound of a door creaking and the sight of Mrs. Norris's tail whisking around the corner.

"Bloody cat," Ron growled. He ran for the Invisibility Cloak. "Come on," he said, gesturing for Hermione to join him under it. They dashed down the corridor to Gryffindor tower, ignored the Fat Lady's cry of "Who's there?" and crashed, panting, onto a sofa in front of the fire.

After they caught their breath, they grinned stupidly at each other for a while. Ron glanced at his watch.

"It's really late," he mumbled. "We'd better get up to bed if we don't want to be asleep all day tomorrow."

Ron kissed Hermione briefly on the mouth before heading up his staircase, and she hers. They both went to bed that night happier than either had felt in a while, the mirror in the deserted classroom forgotten.


End file.
